Dear editor,

The recent heat wave has raised the worry that there will be a shortage of water this summer.

This is in keeping with the prediction that the climate change that is occurring will lead to warmer, wetter winters and hotter, dryer summers 鈥� the result being winter flooding and summer drought.

Recently, Courtenay city council sent a letter to the oil companies suggesting they take some kind of financial responsibility for the impact that fossil fuel-caused climate change is having on municipal budgets.

I think they could have been more specific.

To me, an obvious mitigation solution to the flooding/drought problem would be to store the winter water better and save it for the summer.

The way to do that would be to build a dam on the Cruickshank River.

Courtenay city council could send a follow-up letter to the oil companies asking them to pay for it.

The public relations benefit would be huge.

鈥淪ure鈥�, the oil companies would say. 鈥淲e are definitely having an impact on the climate of the Comox Valley. But here鈥檚 what we鈥檙e going to do to help out. We鈥檙e going to build you a dam.鈥�

Erik Eriksson,

Courtenay